Currently Colorado taxes gasoline and diesel fuel, with all users of our highways helping to maintain and improve our highways. Colorado and out-of-state businesses pay over 18 percent of the Colorado fuel tax (for diesel fuel) to support highways. Propositions 110 and 109 will not collect any money for highways from trucks and businesses. The passage of Proposition 110 will have the citizens' sales tax increase over 21 percent. The first year might see a $766 million increase, however, by year 10 it will be over $1 billion and increase to over $1.7 billion by year 20. Proposition 110 increases general taxpayer's sales taxes for a total of over $22 billion with this bill.

Passage of 110 and 109 is a great deal for out-of-state trucks and corporations; they will not have to pay their $4 billion share of these proposed costs. This is wrong. We need fair funding of our highways that require all users to pay their share of highway maintenance and improvements.

Both propositions on the ballot have the common element of changing how we fund highway maintenance by excluding businesses from sharing the cost to improve our highways. While currently we use fuel taxes to insure that the highway users pay for the maintenance, these proposals will shift the burden from diesel fuel trucks and the businesses that use trucks, to the citizens, effectively subsidizing businesses. This is not a Republican versus Democrat versus independent issue. It might be a politician's issue, but all Coloradans want everyone to pay a fair share on any needed tax.

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As the ballot is written, the state taxes will be increased 21.4 percent and collect $766.7 million per year for 20 years. The ballot fails to mention that by the end of the 20 years, this tax will increase to over $1.7 billion per year. The reality is that this 21.4 percent increase in sales tax with annual growth based on the past seven years, will collect over $22 billion during the next 20 years. The bill only discusses the $9.2 billion for the bonding of expenses in the first years, but trust them, they'll spend the other $13 billion well. And, after the 20 years, we will not have any revenue sources to maintain the roads we have built.

Today, over 18 percent of the cost of road construction and maintenance with Colorado taxes is paid by diesel fuel tax. If Propositions 110 and 109 pass, the trucks will not pay anything for improved highways. Over the period proposed by the sponsors, businesses will not pay their share of road maintenance amounting to $1 to 4 billion (109 and 110). This will instead be paid by the taxpayers.

For Proposition 109, no out-of-state funds will be available for our highways and Colorado corporations will pay just 2.58 percent of the costs, rather than their 18 percent share in fuel taxes. Is it any wonder that corporations are supporting a bill that would transfer the cost of road maintenance to the general public and reduce their share from 18 percent to 2.58 percent? Out-of-state trucks will benefit from our road improvements at no cost to them.

Why are we avoiding an increase in fuel tax?

We could increase our fuel taxes, to include the diesel (truck) taxes without harming our competitiveness. Colorado's fuel tax rates have been unchanged since 1991 and the passage of TABOR. In 1988, a Republican legislature lowered the diesel fuel rate to less than gasoline. Colorado is one of nine states that charge less fuel tax on diesel than gasoline. Colorado gasoline taxes are 15 percent lower than adjacent states and 18 percent lower than the national average. Colorado's diesel taxes are 22.3 percent lower than adjacent states and 27.5 percent lower than the national average.

The citizens of Colorado should vote no on Propositions 110 and 109, and demand that our elected officials, Republican and Democratic, senators, representatives and our governor, must make the hard decisions, in a public venue to create a fair and equitable bill to provide this funding. They should not have passed this responsibility to a business group to make a bill to tax the citizens and avoid costs of over $4 billion for their business members.

Timothy J. Larsen lives in Erie and has 30 years experience as the Colorado Department of

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